The column of brilliance that had swallowed the bunker pulsed once, then steadied.
Every breath in the room hitched. The air itself felt thick, humming with something ancient.
"What… what is that?" Terra whispered, the warmth brushing across her skin like sunlight after winter.
Damien's hand went to his belt, ready to draw his sword—but even he hesitated. "It's… familiar," he murmured, the Latin runes in his armor faintly lighting up in response.
The particles converged, forming a spiral, then a column of radiant energy descending slowly toward the center of the chamber.
Talia exhaled softly, almost smiling. "The White Lantern…"
Lex's voice was quiet now, measured. "Blackfire."
The light intensified until shapes began to form—arms, a silhouette, strands of hair glowing silver-white. Then the face, calm but fierce, opened its eyes.
"I heard my name," said the woman who emerged from the light. Her voice was serene, but the power behind it made every electronic device in the room hum.
"Blackfire," Lex greeted, straightening his coat. "You arrive precisely when we needed proof."
Her eyes drifted over the crowd, pausing briefly on Garfield. "You've been talking about me," she said simply.
"Only good things, promise," he stammered.
Terra elbowed him lightly, whispering, "Smooth."
Blackfire's lips curved into a knowing smirk. "You're all out of time," she said, her gaze sweeping the bunker. "The storm is already coming."
The light around her flared again, casting long shadows that stretched like claws across the walls.
Lex folded his arms, his voice calm amid the chaos. "Then we prepare. Because if Raven truly means to conquer everything…" He tilted his head, eyes glinting with pride and anticipation. "Then we'll give her a war worthy of gods."
No one dared to speak after that.
The bunker fell silent except for the hum of power still lingering in the air—a promise, or perhaps a warning, of the battle to come.
The light flared again—and all present in the bunker were gone.
When vision returned, the group stood on damp stone. The roar of falling water echoed in the distance, and the air smelled of oil, metal, and wet granite.
John Constantine looked up from the banks of monitors he'd been studying along with three others.
"Bloody hell—"
He never finished. The glare forced him to shield his eyes. When it faded, a crowd of figures occupied the cave's main platform.
Lex exhaled through his nose. "This dump again. Of course."
"How did we—?" Terra's question trailed off as she looked around, still gripping Garfield's arm.
"Getting déjà vu," Garfield muttered. "Gloomy atmosphere, giant computer, the smell of brooding—Robin, this your hideout?"
"You talk too much." Damien's expression didn't change, trying his best not to give anything away.
Across the cavern, Arthur Curry straightened, trident catching the low light.
"It's everyone from the bunker," he said flatly as if seeing a multitude of people appear before his very eyes was a very casual thing. "Luthor, Ra's, Talia, Red Star, Blue Beetle, Jericho, Aqualad, Robin… the green one, and the girl."
A chair turned slowly at the console.
Batman rose, cape draping into the shadows. His silence was heavier than Lex's newly improved physiology.
Another burst of light filled the cave, brighter and longer than before. Bats screeched and fled toward the waterfall. When the brilliance dimmed, a throne of white radiance hovered high above everyone els and above the ground.
Blackfire sat upon it.
Her armor—if you would call it that, gleamed like sculpted moonlight. Every movement released a shimmer, and the air around her carried a faint charge that prickled skin. She was magnetic—dangerous in beauty and certainty alike—and most in the cave instinctively straightened as if pulled by gravity.
She was dressed in a dangerously short skirt, thigh-high leggings, boots, and a tight crop top barely containing her ample breasts. She carried a certain degree of lust that swept across everyone present.
Only Batman resisted. He had already been through Raven, this level of pheromones wasn't going to work on him.
His rough voice cut through the hush. "What are you doing in my cave?"
He hovered upwards—Trident in hand but stopped when he reached a certain altitude. His muscles refused to obey, as though the air itself had turned to stone. No matter how much he tried, his body won't allow it. It was as if his body was stopping any further movement against his very will.
'Interesting.' Blackfire thought to herself, studying him.
"Ease yourself, Batman. I'm not here to trespass."
She rose slightly from her throne, light pooling beneath her feet. "I've come to enlist warriors for the fight against the mad goddess Raven."
Her gaze swept them again. "I am Blackfire, true queen of Tamaran, slayer of Lanterns, bearer of the White Light that represents all life. This great power was bestowed upon me by its wielder … I bested him in the affairs of the bedroom and left him yearning for more, all the while being spent at the same time, fufufu. I hold this power now to cleanse what Raven has corrupted."
Even Lex's arrogance was tempered in the face of her certainty. She moved like someone accustomed to obedience.
"You've improved. All of you. You weren't this powerful last time." she said, glancing at the ex-billionaire. "Even if your company is… weird to say the least. People who would never work with each other coming together to stop one person."
Her eyes moved slowly across the room, pausing on Tala, then Ra's, then Damien. She looked Lex up and down with bored curiosity.
Then her focus shifted. "Even in the quest for more power, you all resorted to employing the services of that woman. Tsk, tsk…And you—" She was referring to Tala. As she got used to being a white lantern she could read anyone like a book and could tell what Tala was up to.
But then she froze.
Her gaze locked on that man.
She tilted her head.
Her brow furrowed. "What have you done to your soul?"
The question wasn't metaphorical. To her White Lantern senses, every living being was a constellation of light and shadow. Constantine's, however, was a storm. Curses, bargains, scars of banishment—they flared across him like brands.
Constantine, unfazed, smirked and held his arms wide. "John Constantine. 'Bout time someone noticed this handsome devil."
"John Fucking Constantine," she said slowly, tasting the name. "How are you still breathing?"
He tipped his head, cigarette already lit. "Don't worry about me, love. I'm pretty hard to kill."
The throne pulsed in reply, throwing a ripple of light through the cavern. Everyone felt it: a momentary connection that bound every heartbeat in rhythm with hers. The sensation was both humbling and intoxicating.
"You are an abomination," she said plainly. "I see layers upon layers of curses, hexes, bargains... and what even is that? An Enochian burn mark wrapped around a succubus binding seal?"
"Ohh… I didn't know you were familiar with the game love?" John Constantine moved forward with a smile on face as he looked up at the woman clad in white.
'This power surprises me. I don't even know how I know, but I just know.' Blackfire thought to herself as she shook her head slowly.
"But it's a bit of a long story, love."
She narrowed her eyes. "You should not exist."
"Yet here I am. Breathing, charming, and dashingly irresistible."
A pause.
Then... Blackfire smiled.
"You'll be useful."
John blinked. "Did not see that coming. Most would curse at me, or spit at me or hurl at me or just generally be disgusted to work with me… I can work with that. "
She returned to her throne. "Lex. You've managed to gather pieces. I will mould them into an army."
"We're missing a few," Lex admitted.
"Forget them."
Of course it would be none other than John fucking Constantine.
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